1. |
- Morales, A. I., et al.
(author)
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beta -Delayed gamma -Ray Spectroscopy of Heavy Neutron Rich Nuclei "South" of Lead
- 2009
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In: Acta Physica Polonica B. - 0587-4254. ; 40:3, s. 867-870
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Relativistic projectile fragmentation of a Pb-208 primary beam has been used to produce neutron-rich nuclei with proton-holes relative to the Z = 82 shell closure, i.e., "south" of Pb. beta-delayed gamma-ray spectroscopy allows to investigate the structural properties of such nuclei with A similar to 195 -> 205. The current work presents transitions de-exciting excited states in Au-204, which are the first spectroscopic information on this N = 125 isotone.
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2. |
- Molina, F., et al.
(author)
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Tz=-1 → 0 β-Decays of 54Ni, 50Fe, 46Cr, and 42Ti and Comparison With Mirror (3He,t) Measurements
- 2015
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In: Physical Review C (Nuclear Physics). - 0556-2813. ; 91:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have studied the β decay of the Tz=−1, f7/2 shell nuclei Ni54, Fe50, Cr46, and Ti42 produced in fragmentation reactions. The proton separation energies in the daughter Tz=0 nuclei are relatively large (≈4–5 MeV) so studies of the γ rays are essential. The experiments were performed at GSI as part of the Stopped-beam campaign with the RISING setup consisting of 15 Euroball Cluster Ge detectors. From the newly obtained high precision β-decay half-lives, excitation energies, and β branching ratios, we were able to extract Fermi and Gamow-Teller transition strengths in these β decays. With these improved results it was possible to compare in detail the Gamow-Teller (GT) transition strengths observed in beta decay including a sensitivity limit with the strengths of the Tz=+1 to Tz=0 transitions derived from high resolution (3He,t) reactions on the mirror target nuclei at RCNP, Osaka. The accumulated B(GT) strength obtained from both experiments looks very similar although the charge exchange reaction provides information on a broader energy range. Using the “merged analysis” one can obtain a full picture of the B(GT) over the full Qβ range. Looking at the individual transitions some differences are observed, especially for the weak transitions. Their possible origins are discussed.
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3. |
- Grodner, E., et al.
(author)
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Hindered Gamow-Teller Decay to the Odd-Odd N=Z 62Ga: Absence of Proton-Neutron T=0 Condensate in A=62
- 2014
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114. ; 113:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Search for a new kind of superfluidity built on collective proton-neutron pairs with aligned spin is performed studying the Gamow-Teller decay of the T=1, Jπ=0+ ground state of Ge62 into excited states of the odd-odd N=Z nucleus Ga62. The experiment is performed at GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung with the Ge62 ions selected by the fragment separator and implanted in a stack of Si-strip detectors, surrounded by the RISING Ge array. A half-life of T1/2=82.9(14) ms is measured for the Ge62 ground state. Six excited states of Ga62, populated below 2.5 MeV through Gamow-Teller transitions, are identified. Individual Gamow-Teller transition strengths agree well with theoretical predictions of the interacting shell model and the quasiparticle random phase approximation. The absence of any sizable low-lying Gamow-Teller strength in the reported beta-decay experiment supports the hypothesis of a negligible role of coherent T=0 proton-neutron correlations in Ga62.
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4. |
- Modamio, V., et al.
(author)
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Digital pulse-timing technique for the neutron detector array NEDA
- 2015
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In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 775, s. 71-76
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A new digital pulse-timing algorithm, to be used with the future neutron detector array NEDA, has been developed and tested. The time resolution of four 5 in diameter photomultiplier tubes (XP4512, R4144, R11833-100, and ET9390-kb), coupled to a cylindrical 5 in by 5 in BC501A liquict scintillator detector was measured by employing digital sampling electronics and a constant fraction discriminator (CFD) algorithm. The zero crossing of the CM algorithm was obtained with a cubic spline interpolation, which was continuous up to the second derivative. The performance of the algorithm was studied at sampling rates of 500 MS/s and 200 MS/s. The time resolution obtained with the digital electronics was compared to the values acquired with a standard analog CFD. The result of this comparison shows that the time resolution from the analog and the digital measurements at 500 MS/s and at 200 MS/s are within 15% for all the tested photomultiplier tubes.
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5. |
- Luo, X. L., et al.
(author)
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Pulse pile-up identification and reconstruction for liquid scintillator based neutron detectors
- 2018
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In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 897, s. 59-65
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The issue of pulse pile-up is frequently encountered in nuclear experiments involving high counting rates, which will distort the pulse shapes and the energy spectra. A digital method of off-line processing of pile-up pulses is presented. The pile-up pulses were firstly identified by detecting the downward-going zero-crossings in the first-order derivative of the original signal, and then the constituent pulses were reconstructed based on comparing the pile-up pulse with four models that are generated by combining pairs of neutron and.. standard pulses together with a controllable time interval. The accuracy of this method in resolving the pile-up events was investigated as a function of the time interval between two pulses constituting a pile-up event. The obtained results show that the method is capable of disentangling two pulses with a time interval among them down to 20 ns, as well as classifying them as neutrons or gamma rays. Furthermore, the error of reconstructing pile-up pulses could be kept below 6% when successive peaks were separated by more than 50 ns. By applying the method in a high counting rate of pile-up events measurement of the NEutron Detector Array (NEDA), it was empirically found that this method can reconstruct the pile-up pulses and perform neutron-gamma discrimination quite accurately. It can also significantly correct the distorted pulse height spectrum due to pile-up events.
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6. |
- Luo, X. L., et al.
(author)
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Test of digital neutron-gamma discrimination with four different photomultiplier tubes for the NEutron Detector Array (NEDA)
- 2014
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In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 767, s. 83-91
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A comparative study of the neutron-gamma discrimination performance of a liquid scintillator detector BC501A coupled to four different 5 in photomultiplier tubes (ET9390kb, R11833-100, XP4512 and R4144) was carried out Both the Charge Comparison method and the Integrated Rise-Time method were implemented digitally to discriminate between neutrons and gamma rays emitted by a Cf-252 source. In both methods, the neutron-gamma discrimination capabilities of the four photomultiplier tubes were quantitatively compared by evaluating their figure-of-merit values at different energy regions between 50 keVee and 1000 keVee. Additionally, the results were further verified qualitatively using time-of-flight to distinguish gamma rays and neutrons. The results consistently show that photomultiplier tubes R11833-100 and ET9390kb generally perform best regarding neutron-gamma discrimination with only slight differences in figure-of-merit values. This superiority can be explained by their relatively higher photoelectron yield, which indicates that a scintillator detector coupled to a photomultiplier tube with higher photoelectron yield tends to result in better neutron-gamma discrimination performance. The results of this work will provide reference for the choice of photomultiplier tubes for future neutron detector arrays like NEDA.
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7. |
- Söderström, Pär-Anders, 1980-, et al.
(author)
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Neutron detection and gamma-ray suppression using artificial neural networks with the liquid scintillators BC-501A and BC-537
- 2019
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In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 916, s. 238-245
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this work we present a comparison between the two liquid scintillators BC-501A and BC-537 in terms of their performance regarding the pulse-shape discrimination between neutrons and gamma rays. Special emphasis is put on the application of artificial neural networks. The results show a systematically higher gamma-ray rejection ratio for BC-501A compared to BC-537 applying the commonly used charge comparison method. Using the artificial neural network approach the discrimination quality was improved to more than 95% rejection efficiency of gamma rays over the energy range 150 to 1000 keV for both BC-501A and BC-537. However, due to the larger light output of BC-501A compared to BC-537, neutrons could be identified in BC-501A using artificial neural networks down to a recoil proton energy of 800 keV compared to a recoil deuteron energy of 1200 keV for BC-537. We conclude that using artificial neural networks it is possible to obtain the same gamma-ray rejection quality from both BC-501A and BC-537 for neutrons above a low-energy threshold. This threshold is, however, lower for BC-501A, which is important for nuclear structure spectroscopy experiments of rare reaction channels where low-energy interactions dominates.
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8. |
- Merlo, Domenico Franco, et al.
(author)
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Micronuclei in Cord Blood Lymphocytes and Associations with Biomarkers of Exposure to Carcinogens and Hormonally Active Factors, Gene Polymorphisms, and Gene Expression : The NewGeneris Cohort
- 2014
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In: Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. - : Environmental Health Perspectives. - 0091-6765 .- 1552-9924. ; 122:2, s. 193-200
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Leukemia incidence has increased in recent decades among European children, -suggesting that early-life environmental exposures play an important role in disease development. Objectives: We investigated the hypothesis that childhood susceptibility may increase as a result of in utero exposure to carcinogens and hormonally acting factors. Using cord blood samples from the NewGeneris cohort, we examined associations between a range of biomarkers of carcinogen exposure and hormonally acting factors with micronuclei (MN) frequency as a proxy measure of cancer risk. Associations with gene expression and genotype were also explored. Methods: DNA and protein adducts, gene expression profiles, circulating hormonally acting factors, and GWAS (genome-wide association study) data were investigated in relation to genomic damage measured by MN frequency in lymphocytes from 623 newborns enrolled between 2006 and 2010 across Europe. Results: Malondialdehyde DNA adducts (M(1)dG) were associated with increased MN frequency in binucleated lymphocytes (MNBN), and exposure to androgenic, estrogenic, and dioxin-like compounds was associated with MN frequency in mononucleated lymphocytes (MNMONO), although no monotonic exposure-outcome relationship was observed. Lower frequencies of MNBN were associated with a 1-unit increase expression of PDCD11, LATS2, TRIM13, CD28, SMC1A, IL7R, and NIPBL genes. Gene expression was significantly higher in association with the highest versus lowest category of bulky and M(1)dG-DNA adducts for five and six genes, respectively. Gene expression levels were significantly lower for 11 genes in association with the highest versus lowest category of plasma AR CALUX (R) (chemically activated luciferase expression for androgens) (8 genes), ER alpha CALUX (R) (for estrogens) (2 genes), and DR CALUX (R) (for dioxins). Several SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) on chromosome 11 near FOLH1 significantly modified associations between androgen activity and MNBN frequency. Polymorphisms in EPHX1/ 2 and CYP2E1 were associated with MNBN. Conclusion: We measured in utero exposure to selected environmental carcinogens and circulating hormonally acting factors and detected associations with MN frequency in newborns circulating T lymphocytes. The results highlight mechanisms that may contribute to carcinogen-induced leukemia and require further research.
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10. |
- Pedersen, Marie, et al.
(author)
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Bulky DNA Adducts in Cord Blood, Maternal Fruit-and-Vegetable Consumption, and Birth Weight in a European Mother-Child Study (NewGeneris)
- 2013
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In: Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. - : Environmental Health Perspectives. - 0091-6765 .- 1552-9924. ; 121:10, s. 1200-1206
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Tobacco-smoke, airborne, and dietary exposures to polycyclic aromatic-hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been associated with reduced prenatal growth. Evidence from -biomarker-based studies of low-exposed populations is limited. Bulky DNA adducts in cord blood reflect the prenatal effective dose to several genotoxic agents including PAHs. Objectives: We estimated the association between bulky DNA adduct levels and birth weight in a multicenter study and examined modification of this association by maternal intake of fruits and vegetables during pregnancy. Methods: Pregnant women from Denmark, England, Greece, Norway, and Spain were recruited in 2006-2010. Adduct levels were measured by the 32P-postlabeling technique in white blood cells from 229 mothers and 612 newborns. Maternal diet was examined through questionnaires. Results: Adduct levels in maternal and cord blood samples were similar and positively correlated (median, 12.1 vs. 11.4 adducts in 108 nucleotides; Spearman rank correlation coefficient = 0.66, p < 0.001). Cord blood adduct levels were negatively associated with birth weight, with an estimated difference in mean birth weight of -129 g (95% CI: -233, -25 g) for infants in the highest versus lowest tertile of adducts. The negative association with birth weight was limited to births in Norway, Denmark, and England, the countries with the lowest adduct levels, and was more pronounced in births to mothers with low intake of fruits and vegetables (-248 g; 95% CI: -405, -92 g) compared with those with high intake (-58 g; 95% CI: -206, 90 g). Conclusions: Maternal exposure to genotoxic agents that induce the formation of bulky DNA adducts may affect intrauterine growth. Maternal fruit and vegetable consumption may be protective.
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11. |
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12. |
- Pedersen, Marie, et al.
(author)
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Birth Weight, Head Circumference, and Prenatal Exposure to Acrylamide from Maternal Diet : The European Prospective Mother-Child Study (NewGeneris)
- 2012
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In: Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. - : Environmental Health Perspectives. - 0091-6765 .- 1552-9924. ; 120:12, s. 1739-1745
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Acrylamide is a common dietary exposure that crosses the human placenta. It is classified as a probable human carcinogen, and developmental toxicity has been observed in rodents. OBJECTIVES: We examined the associations between prenatal exposure to acrylamide and birth outcomes in a prospective European mother child study. METHODS: Hemoglobin (Hb) adducts of acrylamide and its metabolite glycidamide were measured in cord blood (reflecting cumulated exposure in the last months of pregnancy) from 1,101 singleton pregnant women recruited in Denmark, England, Greece, Norway, and Spain during 2006-2010. Maternal diet was estimated through food-frequency questionnaires. RESULTS: Both acrylamide and glycidamide Hb adducts were associated with a statistically significant reduction in birth weight and head circumference. The estimated difference in birth weight for infants in the highest versus lowest quartile of acrylamide Hb adduct levels after adjusting for gestational age and country was -132 g (95% CI: -207, -56); the corresponding difference for head circumference was -0.33 cm (95% CI: -0.61, -0.06). Findings were similar in infants of nonsmokers, were consistent across countries, and remained after adjustment for Factors associated with reduced birth weight. Maternal consumption of foods rich in acrylamide, such as fried potatoes, was associated with cord blood acrylamide adduct levels and with reduced birth weight. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary exposure to acrylamide was associated with reduced birth weight and head circumference. Consumption of specific foods during pregnancy was associated with higher acrylamide exposure in utero. IF confirmed, these findings suggest that dietary intake of acrylamide should be reduced among pregnant women.
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